Truth Behind The Bloody Facade
by MidnightRaven323
Summary: ' "You don't know what they've been through. You don't know what caused them to be like that." Peeta said lowly. "They had families too, did you even bother to learn their names?" ' Katniss learns the truth behind the bloody facade of the Careers. Charcters: Katniss,Peeta,Glimmer,Marvel,Cato,Clove. FOURSHOT HG belongs to Suzanne Collins.
1. Truth

_**We don't know much about the lives of the Careers before the Games. Are they truly so bloodthirsty monsters? Or are they human inside? This is my take on the hidden life of the Careers . . .**_

_**Enjoy~**_

_**Truth Behind The Bloody Facade**_

"Another nightmare?" Peeta asked gently, setting a cup of hot tea on the coffee table by the brunette curled up by the fire of their oversized Victor's house. "You seemed like you'd seen a ghost when you woke up."

Katniss nodded and reached out to take a sip of the tea. "I might as well have. I dreamed about the games –not the Quarter Quell. . ._our_ Games." She said in a hushed voice.

For a moment she paused, holding the porcelain cup and inhaling the soothing scent of lavender and chamomile. " We were by the river, I was cleaning your wounds when the Careers from District 4 found us. The others weren't to far behind them. District 1 had held me down and forced me to watch while 2 and 4 restrained and tortured you. . .'till you died." She grimaced at the twisted dream. "You left me."

"I'm right here Katniss." Peeta soothed, sitting down beside the distraught girl and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I would never leave you, Kat. You know that, it couldn't have been that bad."

"They made me _watch_. They tortured you and made me watch when they _cut your heart out_." Her grip tightened around the cup. "It was horrible; they can barely be called humans after what they did. Mercy, sympathy, trust and love are foreign to them! "

Peeta frowned and was silent as Katniss spoke. "I'm flattered to know you care about me so much, but you shouldn't be so quick to judge the other tributes."

"Tributes? They're Careers, they might as well be heartless monsters."

Peeta removed his hand from Katniss's shoulder abruptly, causing the brunette to face him.

"You don't know what they've been through. You don't know what caused them to be like that." Peeta said lowly. "They had families too, did you even bother to learn their names?"

Katniss flinched when she saw an uncharacteristically cold look on Peeta's face. He sighed and looked away.

"Glimmer Angeletti and Marvel Reiner from District 1. Glimmer had two sisters around Prim's age called Shimmer and Shine. She had raised them since their mother died and their father drowned his sorrow in alcohol and drugs. Marvel was the last of four sons; his brothers were Astonish, Hero, and Blaze, each one entered in the Games. All of them died, and he was his parents' last hope. Cato Alexander and Clove Castille from District 2. They were the star-crossed lovers, but no one knew. All Cato's parents cared about was the Games and they threatened to disown him if he failed to return as Victor. He had trained to do just that until his bones cracked and pain was nothing but distant memory. Clove had a brother named Claymore who she was locked up in a room with by their deadbeat father to see which sibling could continue training. Only one of them came out alive, and that was Clove. River Ashford and Nami Oceana from District 4. River was a foster kid; he jumped from home to home, never staying in one place for long ever since his father's boat went down. The Career Academy was the only place that was always constant in his life. Nami was a week pregnant when she was reaped for the Games. She had quit a few days before the Reaping but no one had known the reason, which was why there was no Volunteers. "

Katniss's eyes widened as she learned the history behind the so-called monsters. Her tea was long forgotten and placed back on the table. When Peeta finished, the crackling of the fire's dancing flames was all that was heard in the silent night.

"You chose to fight in Prim's place, so she wouldn't die. How is that any different from Glimmer raising her sisters or Clove fighting against her brother? You all chose between a life-or-death."

It was then, Katniss realized, he was right. It was all just a bloody façade.

Glimmer wasn't showing herself off or trying to appear better than everyone else because she vain or prideful (Okay, maybe a bit. . .) It was because she had to make sure she could get enough sponsors to make it back to her siblings. Marvel wasn't overconfident and a show off because he was arrogant, it was because he had to prove he was worthy of being crowned Victor, an honour his brothers gave their lives in an attempt to gain. Cato and Clove didn't hate them because of the flames during the Chariot Rides, or because of her archery, Peeta's strength or their training scores. It was because they were able to love and show it, while the true lovers were not under the fear of being seen as weak. River wasn't dismissive and reckless because he thought he was better than everyone else, it was because he had nothing to lose. He had nothing left to live for. Nami hesitated before acting and stood back not because she was a coward, but because she wanted to insure the safety of her unborn child. She wasn't willing to take a dangerous gamble.

"Katniss. . .You say they're monsters, but they had no choice but to do what they did to survive. So I ask you again. . .How are we any different?"

With new-found knowledge, she now knew there was no difference.

They had loved, they had fought. Shed tears and shared laughter. They had tried so hard to survive and stay alive.

They couldn't be blamed for trying to live.

For living, that was the point of the Hell known as the Hunger Games.


	2. All's Fair In Love And War

**Despite originally being a oneshot, I've planned to just post a chapter each to give you some insight on our Careers :) **

* * *

**District 1  
**_**The Family Troubles of  
Glimmer Angeletti & Marvel Reiner**_

* * *

_My rings are by Webster, it makes their heads twirl_  
_ They all say, "Darling, what did you do for those pearls?"_  
_ What? I am a good girl_

* * *

"Glimmer?"

"Glimmer~!"

"Ngh. . .What?"

I blinked lazily, staring up at the two sets of eyes looking down on my previously-sleeping form. The twins: Identical in every way, both with heads of corn-silk hair tumbling down their shoulders and eyes of sapphire blue. Yet their personalities were as different as night and day.

Shimmer and Shine were beautiful.

They must get it from me.

"Father is on the porch." Shimmer mumbled sullenly, wringing her hands.

Bless her, she would forever be a gentle soul, never Career material. . .

"Father? Pfft, that bastard is useless; the dog does more work than him!"

. . .Shine on the other hand, was a different story completely.

But the 12 year old was right.

Sterling didn't even deserve to be called our father. I mean, he use to be fine: The fashionable and cool father everyone wanted, but then came the drinking and the drugs. And yes, our dog – Sequin was her name, an adorbs white poodle- actually DID do more work than him. At the very least, Sequin actually stuck around and looked out for us, instead off to bars and what not.

If only mother hadn't gotten sick and died. I remember her well, she was beautiful. Even more gorgeous than the other District women and that was saying something. If she was still alive, I wouldn't have to be the one keeping us steady and Sterling would still be the family man.

Swinging the legs off my bed, I got up and strode towards the vanity. "Get ready for school. If we're lucky we can sneak some food out of the kitchen. We'll leave through the back."

Damnit, things shouldn't be like this.

Mother should still be here, as beautiful and healthy as the white rose bushes she use to tend to outside the house, Father should still #1 on the Cool Dads list, the twins should be growing up to be the most popular girls in their grade, and me? I should have been the most sought-after girl in the district (Well, I am anyways, but that's not the point) but still be acing my classes at the Career Academy.

Beauty and Strength, my two most favourite things..

Instead, the time used on making myself look more beautiful was spent making daily meals before Sterling got back from the bar; I ran late for classes because it was me who took the girls to school; and when I should have been training by myself, I was helping the twins with their home work.

It wasn't fair.

But Life wasn't fair, was it?

* * *

"Again!" The trainer barked, shoving another spear into my hand. "You can't win with such a weak force behind your throw! I remember your brother, Astonish. He used spears too didn't he? Well he'd be laughing at you now!"

I ground my teeth together, trying to refrain from throwing the spear at the trainer instead of the dummy. Weak force? As long as the spear passes through a tribute, they're as good as dead right?

With a grunt, I pulled my arm back and released the spear, smirking when it landed with a heavy 'thud' with enough force to knock the dummy back.

The trainer – Duke, now I remember- nodded stiffly in satisfaction, patting my shoulder before moving on to pick on someone else.

Someone who wouldn't prove him wrong.

"Angeletti! You're late!"

Turning my head to see who the new victim was,I saw a blonde who I'm pretty sure was Glimmer throwing her hair up into a bun making a beeline towards the bow-and-arrows.

"Won't happen again." Glimmer reassured, choosing quiver of arrows.

It better not, last person who turned up late got had to clean all three floors of the Academy.

So that's. . .Blood and sweat off the first floor, the one that we trained at and had all the weapons; half-eaten food and rubbish off the second floor that had the cafeteria and break places; and dust and scrunched up paper off the third floor, the offices, infirmary and dorm rooms.

Unpleasant.

Thinking I deserved a break, I twirled the spear I had in my hand twice before setting it back down.

The wall to my left caught my eye, being covered with photos. This wall was a record of every tribute sent by District 1 to compete for the title of Hunger Games Victor.

I instantly recognized the three faces of Hero, Astonish and Blaze.

They are my brothers.

No, they _were _my brothers.

Hero, who was the first born, had been in the 68th Hunger Games. I was just a little shit back then, doing all this crazy shit to be exactly like my big bro. I was thirteen, cut me some slack. I remember we had been eating dinner while watching the Final 8. It was the shattering of mom's crystal wineglass that signalled our brother's defeat at the hands of reptilian mutts.

You know what our parents' reaction was?

"_There's always next year,"_ they said. Apparently they didn't give a shit that their first-born had just died.

Sure enough, Astonish had gone in to take revenge the following year. He was fine for awhile, but then he lost it the second day in. He lost his mind after his district partner was killed, a pretty thing called Opal. He himself slaughtered –not killed, _slaughtered_ -the remainder of the Career pack after. He got what was coming to him though. On the third day he was caught and dissected like a lab rat by the eccentric(if not insane) District 3 boy. It was one of the bloodiest games in history.

Things died down a bit after that, the embarrassment of being related to a psychopath took its toll on my rep for a while. Then lo and behold, three years later, Blaze stepped up to take the crown.

Damn, he almost got it too. He was in the Final 2, but then the lucky duck from District 11 pulled an under-hand trick that landed him with his own sword through his abdomen. I still don't know how the hell that managed to happen. I swear, that District will pay for that. . .

So there you have it, three sons of the Reiner family dead in five years.

But soon . . .Soon it will be my time to shine.

And this time, it will be Marvel Reiner crowned Victor.

* * *

_I'll be the same when it all goes up,_  
_ I'll be the same when it all goes down_  
_ Not the first one open it up, _  
_I'll be the last one closing it out_

* * *

**So sorry about the length :( I never meant to continue this so I was sort of lost on what to do. So I'm just giving you peeks into their life ^-^**

**The top song used for Glimmer is 'But I Am A Good Girl' by Christina Aguilera :)  
**

**The bottom song used for Marvel is 'Morning After Dark' by Timbaland. Idk, a lot of themesong vids used this for him so whatever. . .**

**REVIEW your thoughts please~~~ Cato and Clove will be up next!  
**

**~MidnightRaven323**

**P.S Please no one-word reviews or simple 'Please update!' the second one especially considering the fact that I JUST DID.**


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